Not a couple of pregnant women complain of difficulty sleeping, although sleep is very important for the health of pregnant women themselves and their fetuses. Do pregnant women also often sleep? If thus, find out what causes pregnant women to have difficulty sleeping, in order that pregnant women will overcome them.

Pregnant women are recommended to sleep more, which is about 7-9 hours per day. This is recommended not without reason, you know. Besides being useful for resting the body, sleeping during pregnancy also has many benefits for the health of pregnant women and fetuses. On the other hand, pregnant women who do not get enough sleep are prone to pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and inhibition of fetal growth and development.

Causes Pregnant Women Have Difficulty Sleeping

Difficulty sleeping throughout pregnancy is typically influenced by discomfort caused by several things, including:

1. Nausea and vomiting

Generally nausea and vomiting during pregnancy occurs in the first trimester. However, this can also occur in the second and third trimesters. In fact, there also are pregnant women who expertise nausea and vomiting throughout their pregnancy. Although often called morning sickness, in fact nausea and vomiting during pregnancy can occur at any time, either in the morning, afternoon, or at night. Of course this can cause pregnant women to have difficulty sleeping if it occurs at night, because the urge to vomit will be difficult to resist.

Read Too : How to Overcome Morning Sickness Naturally

In order to prevent nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, pregnant women are actually recommended to get enough rest, because fatigue can actually worsen nausea. Therefore, always have warm water and snacks, such as ginger biscuits, at your bedside to ward off nausea.

2. Leg cramps

Leg cramps are one of the problems that are often experienced by pregnant women and usually occur at night. Pain and discomfort due to cramps can certainly cause pregnant women to have difficulty falling asleep or waking up from sleep. To prevent this, pregnant women can stretch their legs before going to bed. If in the middle of sleeping pregnant women experience leg cramps, immediately straighten both legs and wiggle your toes slowly. Do not forget to massage the calf area to relax tense muscles.

Some experts say that leg cramps are caused by low levels of calcium and magnesium in the body of pregnant women. Therefore, eating foods rich in minerals, such as nuts and seeds, may reduce the appearance of leg cramps.

3. Frequent urination

As the size of the fetus increases, don't be surprised if pregnant women will go to the toilet more often to urinate. The weight of the fetus that increases every day causes the pregnant woman's bladder to be depressed. Because of this pressure, pregnant women will want to urinate a lot of often. This complaint can cause pregnant women to wake up at night and find it difficult to fall back asleep, even though pregnant women are very sleepy.

To overcome this, 1-2 hours before bed pregnant women are advised not to drink a lot and urinate first even though the bladder feels not full. In addition, avoid consuming caffeinated drinks because it can make pregnant women more difficult to sleep and urinate frequently.

4. Backache

Pregnant women are prone to back pain. This condition occurs due to a combination of hormonal changes in pregnant women and weight gain for themselves and the fetus. Back pain is one of the causes of insomnia that is quite often experienced by pregnant women. To relieve it, pregnant women are recommended to regularly exercise or do stretching. Exercises that pregnant women can choose include swimming or pregnancy yoga.

Read Too : Know the Benefits of Yoga for Pregnant Women

Those are a series of causes for pregnant women to have trouble sleeping that pregnant women need to know. Even though pregnant women have difficulty getting quality sleep, that doesn't mean they let pregnant women sleep less and skip sleep every day, right?

Adequate sleep needs to be fought for the health of pregnant women and fetuses. If pregnant women are very difficult to close their eyes at night, but are very sleepy in the morning, take this opportunity to sleep even if only briefly.

If pregnant women still have trouble sleeping or have trouble sleeping well, it may be that the difficulty sleeping pregnant women experience is caused by something more serious. So, you should consult a doctor to get the right examination and treatment.